The Ale Archive

The Brewery: “Situated in Larbert, Tryst Brewery has been producing quality ales since 2003. John McGarva, owner and head brewer, is always focusing on adding new twists to traditional recipes to create unique takes on classic ales. All of our brews are made with Scottish malt from Mungoswells in East Lothian with additions from Bairds Malt to add depth of colour and flavour. To keep our beers evolving we use hops from all over the globe allowing for a broad range of tastes and aromas.” The Beer: “A rounded, slightly sweeter, refreshing amber ale that is well balanced with a hop dominated dry finish.” Once brewed on site at the Lade Inn itself, adjacent to which is the Scottish Real Ale shop where yours truly prized open the wallet to procure a selection of research samples. A very tasty pint and not too hoppy for my fussy palate. 4.5% A.B.V. The Lade Inn , Kilmahog, Perthshire. April 2019

The Brewery: “We’re a small family-owned brewery tucked away in the village of Tongham, in the heart of the old Surrey hop-growing region….We first opened our doors on the 4th August 1992, in 18th century farm buildings that at various times have stored wheat, and housed cattle and, appropriately, hogs. The brewhouse was what is now our shop and the very first brew was TEA, which was an instant hit.” The Beer: “First brewed as an exclusive celebration beer for the Royal Horticultural Society garden at Wisley for their 100 year Centenary, Gardener's Tipple proved to be a great success. Perfect for relaxing after a hard day in the garden.A refreshing thirst-quenching bitter, with an exceptional taste and light amber colour. We brew a rounded malty base from finest English malted barley in the mash tun and combine it with the fresh local Fuggles and Goldings whole hop flowers in the copper to achieve a long lasting finish. Brewed to be enjoyed by gardeners or gentry alike.” I’ve en...

The Brewery: “Clouded Minds brewery was established in London 2013 by an Italian brewer and a British engineer who started creating a range of craft beers on a pilot system…..The next step began in May 2014 when we signed a 6 month deal to rent a brewery in the Derbyshire countryside in which time we grew our customer base……We then brewed our beers at Gipsy Hill brewery in South London whilst finally establishing our own brewery situated on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border which is now in operation and the home of Clouded Minds brewery.” The Beer: “Our Classic Stout, deep dark ale velvety and malty. Aroma of roasted malts, cocoa, dried fruits, figs. Mildly sweet & sour with amiable smoky and bitter finish.” Although served a bit too cold I enjoyed this – very smooth and I always enjoy a certain smokiness in a stout. Great boozer too. 4.5% A.B.V The George & Dragon , Acton, London. April 2019

The Brewery: “We’ve been running pubs and brewing award-winning beer from our base in Bury St. Edmunds ever since the company was founded in 1799 by 19 year-old Benjamin Greene…..During its first 100 years, Greene King grows from the Greene’s Brewery, established in Bury St Edmunds by Benjamin Greene, to Greene, King and Sons, following an amalgamation with Frederick King’s St Edmunds brewery in 1887. The Beer: “A refreshing, delicious & fruity beer packed full of flavour. Using Citra & Simcoe hops to produce a mouth-watering citrus and pine finish. Brewed with de-husked roasted barley that gives this Black Ipa its distinct colour and subtle roasted bitterness.” How nice of them to put a beer on especially for me! Thankfully the citrus was kept in check and I found this quite tasty. Nothing on their website now so presumably a one-off. Reasonably full-bodied at 4.5% A.B.V. The Rose & Crown , Ashwell, Hertfordshire. April 2019.

The Brewery – Belhaven: “Belhaven – or “Beautiful harbour” – nestles among the rolling barley fields of the beautiful East Lothian coast, around 20 miles east of Edinburgh. For nearly 300 years, we have brewed in this place using only the finest local barley and choicest hops. Established in 1719, Belhaven is Scotland’s oldest working brewery. With abundant local barley, fine water from the brewery well and access to markets up and down the coast, Belhaven was the perfect place for a brewery back then, and it still is today.” The Brewery – Saltaire: “It began in 2003 over a laboratory bench when Tony Gartland, owner and founder, met Derek Todd, an industrial chemist at a Brewlab course in Newcastle….Tony and Derek were ambitious and obsessed with quality and flavour. They set up with a 20bbl bespoke Moeschle brew kit in 2005 and the following year started producing as many as three beers a week…..Saltaire Blonde and Cascade Pale followed in 2007, and quickly became popular with pubs ...

The Brewery: “Based in Hartlepool, Camerons Brewery is now back in family hands since we purchased the brewery in 2002. Our philosophy at Camerons is to offer our customers high quality beers and lagers brewed at the Lion Brewery as well as a full range of products from other major breweries and suppliers.” The Beer: “A classic North-East brown ale recipe with the addition of Amarillo hops to give it a lovely peach hop aroma and flavour.” It’s probably thanks to Cameron’s that this blog exists at all. You see it was a pint of Castle Eden back in 2007 that got me into real ale after nearly twenty years of drinking lager. This beer is part of their Anchor range which donates 5p of every pint sold to the RNLI – a worth cause indeed. Sadly I didn’t enjoy it much – there was nothing at all wrong with it but the flavours weren't well received by my awkward palate. 4.3% A.B.V. The Manor House , Royston, Hertfordshire. April 2019

The Brewery: “Sitting in its beautiful, mellow Cotswold Hills landscape, Hook Norton is a proudly independent and passionate family business that takes the very best of its handcrafted brewing heritage and combines it with a thoroughly modern approach, to create a range of real ales for today’s drinkers to enjoy…… Hook Norton is one of only 32 family owned breweries and is the finest example of a Victorian Tower Brewery in the country. The Beer: There’s nothing about this on the Hook Norton Brewery website however the range of Crafty Ales is from their ‘brewery within a brewery’ where they try out new recipes. Looks like it was a one off I enjoyed this even though the hops were fairly prominent. A bit of an aftertaste though which I dealt with by….having another beer. 4.4% A.B.V. The Manor House , Royston, Hertfordshire. April 2019